Bad Dreams and Irrational Fears
by Skyward98
Summary: oneshot Set after Bro Down. Chase has been having nightmares since the incident, and they're only getting worse. He's afraid to stay in his own capsule, and he can't eat because he's so afraid. Can the others see what's wrong, before it's too late? R&R I don't own Lab Rats!


Hot, much, much too hot. Burning now, to the point he was sweating, internally and externally. He screamed, banging on the glass door. Air was a demand at this point, escapin his lung and making it so he cannot breathe. He yelled for help, crying and gasping for air. He slid down the wall, exhausted. finally, he let the darkness consume him.

Chase lurched awake,gasping with fresh tears on his face and an expression of the worst fear on his pale face. He sighed and stepped out of his capsule, careful not to wake his brother and sister. Chase envied thier ability to sleep peacefully inside thier capsules, just like he used to be able to. He shook his head, and made his way upstairs. The nightmares left him unable to sleep at all. Chase reached into the fridge upstairs in the kitchen, digging out the gallon of milk. He grabbed a glass and poured. He brought the glass to his lips, but shook his head and set it back down. Adam often commented on how skinny Chase looked, but brushed it away. Chase's fear of heat and suffocation within his own capsule affected hs appetite, making him loose it , Chase put the milk and glass away and sat down on the couch. his eyes bagan to droop, and he soon fell asleep on the couch.

Donald Davenport made his way into the kitchen, whistling merriy. A coffee cup soon became attached to the palm of his hand. Davenport turned around, and sighed. A brunnette boy around 15 was passed out on the couch, snoring shook his head at Chase, and headed downstairs to the lab. He knocked quietly on Adam's capsule, waking the sleepy 17 year old bionic boy. "Huh, what?" Adam mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Adam, I need a favor." Davenport whispered. "Will you go get your brother off the couch for me?"

"Sure, Mr. Davenport." Adam said, stepping out of his capsule.

"Don't wake you sister." Davenport warned quietly. Adam nodded and walked upstairs, spotting Chase still fast asleep on the sofa. He carefully picked up his baby brother in his arms and headed back down to the lab. Chase whimpered quietly in his sleep.

"I got you buddy." Adam told him quietly. Chase didn't stir, but sighed again. Adam smiled. He spotted Davenport and motioned for him to open Chase's capsule quikly obliged, holding open the glass door for him. Adam climbed in, gently setting chase down on his feet in the capsule. Davenport had to smile at how gentle and loving Adam was being towards his little brother. Adam hopped out of Chase's capsule and quietly shut his door.

"Nicely done." Davenport complimented. Adam smiled wider, then furrowed his brow.

"Mr. Davenport, i couldn't help but notice, when I was carrying him back down, how light he felt. it was like i was carrying paper down here in my arms." Adam confessed, a tinge of worry in his doe brown eyes.

"He does look skinnier than he should be." Davenport said uneasily. "You don't think something is wrong do you?"

"Chase would teel us if something was, wouldn't he?" Adam asked, pleading silently that Davenport would say yes. Before Davenprt could answer, Chase began crying out pitifully. Adam bolted too his brother's side, inserting himself inside Chase's capsule. His cries turned to horrifyingly fearful screams. Adam palced both hands on his baby brother's shoulders and shook him gently.

Chase bolted awake, pure terror on his face.

"Chase, you okay?" Davenport asked from outside the capsule.

"Y-Yeah I'm, I'm fine." Chase stammered. "Why wouldn't I be?" He forced out a laugh, but it came out strangled.

"Chase, you know you can tell us anything right?" Adam said to him softly. "We're family, you don't have to hide anything from us." Chase just shook his head, unwilling to tell.

"I'm fine, really." Chase assured them. "Trust me." Adam and Davenport shared a doubtful look.

"Chase, have you been eating lately?" Davenport asked uneasily.

"Whast kind of question is that? Of course I have." Chase faked a snort to hide his lie. He hoped that they would let it go. He wasn't used to this. He never needed confort like this before, Mr. Davenport had created them and raised them to be expert fighting and superhuman machines to save the world when needed. He didn't like feeling helpless.

"If I find out you're lying," Davenport let the threat hang in the air before turning around and leaving the lab.

"Sleep tight buddy. I'll be right there if you need me." Adam pointed to his case and smiled softly. Chase forced himself to smile back at his big brother. Adam walked back into his capsule and fell asleep easily. Chase sighed and tried to do the same

XXXX

Heat waves washed over Chase, searing his flesh and making his lungs burn. "Help!" Chase cried, coughing when the last of his air left him in a rush. "Adam! Bree! Mr. Davenport! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" Chase shrieked. Someone shook his shoulders.

"Chase, Chase wake up!" Chase opened his eyes. His elder sister was standing in front of him, her hands on his shoulder and her hazel green eyes concerned. "You were screaming, are you having nightmares?" Chase glanced behind her. Davenport, Leo, Tasha and Adam were sitting on the barstools, thier eyes concerned and inquiring.

"Chase, come on talk to us. We can help." Adam begged. Tasha nodded. Bree stepped out of his capsule, her movements making it seem like he should do the same. Chase shakily stepped out of the case, following his sister to an empty chair.

"Chase, what's going on?" Davenport asked.

"Yeah, it seems like every night I wake up to you screaming." Leo said coldly. Tasha slapped his arm. "Ow! Mom!" Leo complained.

"Is there anything we can do, sweetie?" Tasha asked sweetly. Chase ignored them, especially Tasha's sweet 'motherly' voice. Easier said than done, especially for a bionic boy with ultra-sensitive hearing.

"Chase, just tell us what's wrong." Davenport pleaded. "We might be able to help." _That was new._ Chase thought. _Mr. Davenport never pleads with anyone. _

"Chase please. We want to help." Bree said, stepping closer to him. He just looked at her.

"Yeah man. You're like my big brother, I don't like seeing you like this." Leo told him. Chase ducked his head, a small smile on his face.

"And you're _our_ baby brother." Adam moitioned to himself and Bree. "Whatever it is, we'll stay with you, whatever it is."

"Chase, just tell us." Davenport begged. "Please, you're deteriorating in front of us. You aren't eating, and don't lie, I see how skinny you are." Davenport warned, stopping Chase's interuption before it started. "You can't sleep, and it's costing all of us, and most of all you. Talk to us, let us help." Chase blinked, he hadn't expected a speech like that from Davenport.

"I'm scared." Chase mumbled shyly.

"Of what, with bionics like yours, what's to be afraid of?" Tasha asked.

"I'm not invincible, Tasha!" Chase snapped; he deflated. "Nor am I invunerable. Not to anything."

"So?" Davenport asked. "What's othering you Chase?" Chase let his eyes flash to his capsule, fear replacing shyness once he did so.

"Your capsule?" Adam asked. Chase ducked his head again, trying to hide his shame. "I don't understand." As soon as the words left his mouth, Adam _did_ understand. "Oh."

"Will someone please explain?" Leo asked, annoyed.

"Chase?" Adam inquired gently.

"Remember when Adam decided to quit the team? Mr. Davenport and I devised a plan to get Adam get back on the team." Chase winced. "It didn't end well."

_Flashback_

_"Alright Chase, come on out. He's not buying it." Mr. Davenport sighed. Adam put his feet up onto the console. Suddenly the bottom and top of Chase's capsule turned an ugly color of red, and Adam and Davenport could see hot air beginning to blow in the case. Chase pushed on the capsule door but discovered to his horror it was locked. "Adam, your foot turned on the heat sanitizer." Davenport gasped. "That thing gets up to 200 degrees!"_

_"I really can't breathe! Get me out!" Chase cried._

_"It's locked!" Davenport shouted. "Adam, you have to break down the door!"_

_"Oh bravo, so dramatic!" Adam mockingly congradulated, clapping his hands to add to the sarcasm. "You're acting is so much better this time."_

_Chase sunk down, feeling extetremely lightheaded and hot. "Do it!" Davenport shrieked at Adam, tugging on the glass door._

_"Wait a minute, he really is in trouble. Why didn't you say something?!" Adam yelled. He rushed the door, breaking the glass and pulling Chase out._

_End Flashback._

"Wait, Adam you thought Chase was faking?!" Bree rounded on her brother.

"It's not his fault, we did trick him." Chase sighed.

"Chase, are you afraid you're going to suffocate in your own capsule?" Davenport asked what Adam already knew. Chase looked sheepish, scared, but sheepish. He nodded. "Well, that's just.." Chase waited for Mr. Davenport to call him a selfish coward. " perfectly reasonable considering what happened."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Bree asked.

"It's not the easiest thing in the world to admit your afraid Bree." Chase admitted quietly. "Escpecially when you have a demanding boss for a dad and was created and raised to be an expert fighting and superhuman machine designed to save the world when needed. I didn't want to be labeled as a coward." Everyone looked suprised, especially Davenport.

Tasha hit his arm. "You're expecting too much from them!" She hissed.

Davenport rubbed his arm. "I had no idea he felt this way!" He hissed back. Chase hung his head shamefully. "Chase, no one could blame you for being scared, after what you went through."

"We completely understand." Tasha told him.

"Yeah, if it were me, I'd crawl in bed with Mom everytime I had one of your nightmares." Leo said.

"Thank God it wasn't you then." Davenport muttered. Tasha slapped him again. "Ow!" Big D whined. "But, why aren't you eating?"

"Kinda hard to eat supper if it means bedtime straight after." Bree answered for her baby brother. "I wouldn't eat either."

"I'm sorry to dump all this on you in the middle of the night." Chase muttered, sheepish.

"Chase, when are you gonna realize that we are family?" Tasha asked. "And families look after eachother, and like it or not that includes everyone, even you." She smiled at him. He gave her a small grin back. Bree hugged her little brother, Adam squeezed his shoulder, and Davenport ruffled his already messy hair. Chase grinned wider.

"Do you think you can sleep through the rest of the night, little brother?" Adam asked. He didn't miss the look of fear as it crossed Chase's face.

"Don't worry, at the first sign of trouble, I'll be right there to wake you up." Bree assured him. Chase still looked slightly afraid. Then a thought occured to her. A sly smile made itself apparent on Bree's face. "Come on, little brother. I got you covered." Bree grabbed Chase's arm and dragged him to a capsule. Chase's brown eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" Chase asked, unconviced. Bree nodded, smiling. She pushed him in and shut the door, then got into his. Davenport smiled at Bree's idea to let Chase sleep in _her_ capsule instead of his own.

"You gonna be okay, buddy?" Davenport asked him.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Chase tried to say confidently, but failed miserably.

"See you in the morning." Davenport told all of them, and flipped of the lab lights.

Chase's nightmares never bothered him again.


End file.
